


A Little Blue Dot

by armoredsoftie



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, MIT Era, college shenanigans, science love, two nerds having fun, wholesome pranks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:49:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17128496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armoredsoftie/pseuds/armoredsoftie
Summary: “I don't know why people think I'm the troublemaker…” said Tony, while adjusting the screws on a little electronic device. Rhodey, who was memorizing the blueprints of the building, smiled.“Because you get caught. And you're too proud to let anyone else take the credit.”Two boys having fun and getting in trouble. For the love of science, of course.Rhodey and Tony MIT era.





	A Little Blue Dot

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for the Captain Handsome’s holiday gift exchange! It took me a while, but it's finally here. Thanks for the opportunity. Enjoy!

“I can't believe we're gonna miss it,” Tony sighed. Rhodey, who was laying upside down on the bed, sighed as well.

“It only comes once a year, y'know. And who knows if he's going to be there for next year…” Rhodey threw his hands into the air, frustrated.

“I know, Rhodey bear, I know.” Tony closed his physics book over his notes on thermodynamics and turned over with his desk chair. “But we can’t do anything to change the date of the final. I talked to Professor Johnson and he said there’s no second date to take the final unless we signed up for it, and the inscriptions were a month ago.”

“Goddammit…”

Rhodey closed his eyes. There was a science fair coming to Boston that week, and one of the panelists was Carl Sagan. They really admired the guy, and they would die to get a chance to meet him. But the day of his panel coincided with their physics final. There was nothing they could do.

… Or was there?

Rhodey opened his eyes and quickly sat up in bed. Tony blinked at him, startled.

“Tones. Tony. My lovely little friend…” Rhodey said, a smile creeping up on his face. Tony started shaking his head.

“No. Whatever it is-”

“-can be the solution to our problem!” Rhodey laughed, and sat up straighter. His head was running with wild ideas. “C’mon! What’s a little mischief to you?”

Tony was avoiding his eyes, looking around the room, nervous. “I don’t know, Rhodey. I don’t need more trouble.”

“Like you care about what the authorities think of you…” Rhodey rolled his eyes. Tony blushed, ashamed.

“No, but I care about my parents finding out. I can’t mess up again.”

His friend curled up on his desk chair and rested his chin on his knees. Rhodey felt a little bad, but he wasn’t going to give up.

“We won’t mess up. We just have to be discreet.” Tony seemed ready to argue, but Rhodey continued. “If we do this together, they won’t know what hit them. They can’t catch us.”

Tony smiled a little. “Sounds like you have a plan.”

“Oh, a damn good one.” Rhodey got up from the bed and walked to the desk. “We’re going to this convention.”

 

 

“I don't know why people think I'm the troublemaker…” said Tony, while adjusting the screws on a little electronic device. Rhodey, who was memorizing the blueprints of the building, smiled.

“Because you get caught. And you're too proud to let anyone else take the credit.”

Tony extended his foot to try and kick his chair, but missed by an inch. Rhodey laughed, and moved slightly away.

“You're mean. You're being mean.”

Rhodey kept laughing, and Tony smiled. They were preparing the prank. Well, Tony preferred to call it “prank” because purposely sabotaging the fire alarm system on the main building of the faculty felt a little bit like crossing the line to felony. He really didn't want to be suspended from college. But he also really wanted to go to that convention.

The plan was simple. Tony was making a small artifact that they would connect to the electronic panel controlled the security systems, and they would trigger it remotely. Rhodey was going to be in charge of installing the device. Tony trusted him to not get caught.

 

 

They didn’t get caught. Not exactly.

The exam was at 9 am, and they were ready to put the plan into action. They waited at the door of the building for a few minutes, and first Rhodey came in to hide in one of the bathrooms. Then Tony went to the classroom where the exam would take place. He arrived early. He greeted the professor and sat down in one of the seats in the back. One by one, the rest of the students began to arrive.

Rhodey was late. Tony was worried that everyone would come to the exam except for him, and then it would be easy to figure out who was responsible.

Ten minutes left. The teacher began to roll call. There were still several people missing, there was always some poor idiot who fell asleep. Tony expected them to believe that about Rhodey as well, but since they were roommates and he was there, it was unlikely.

Then it happened. The fire alarm began to sound, stunning everyone. They had raised the power by two hundred percent, but they did not expect it to be so deafening. Everyone covered their ears immediately, and some people moaned in pain.

"Get out, everyone out!" The professor began shouting, and people left the classroom in terror. Tony stopped for a second in the hall, watching as all the doors opened and more students ran out of them, trying to get to the exit as soon as possible. A small mischievous smile was drawn on his face, contemplating the chaos.

He settled his backpack on his back and he ran.

 

 

"I can not believe that worked out well."

Rhodey’s heart was killing him. He had run from the bathroom on the second floor to the exit like a maniac, covering his ears. He had found Tony in the front yard of the building, laughing along with other classmates. Now they were running down a boulevard trying to get to the bus stop that would take them to the convention, which would begin in less than an hour. If they were lucky, there were still some tickets left.

The alarm had been ringing for an hour, and all classes had been suspended for the day. If the plan worked well, the managers would not be able to defuse the alarm until the end of the day, unless they cut off electricity throughout the campus. The plan was infallible.

Or almost infallible, they realized, when they saw the sign SOLD OUT at the ticket office. Rhodey almost cried in frustration. But Tony would not give up that easily.

"Please, we're coming all the way from Los Angeles just to see Dr. Sagan!"  said Tony, using his most lethal weapons: puppy eyes and a clueless Californian accent. Rhodey had to turn around so they wouldn't see him laughing.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. Capacity is limited and tickets are sold out" replied the employee, without any compassion. Tony clenched his fists.

"How much were the tickets, 10 dollars? And if I offer you 100?" Tony leaned on the counter, took out his wallet and showed him two hundred-dollar bills. "How about then?"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Security!"

Immediately, Rhodey took Tony by the elbows and took him from the premises by force. He let go when they were back on the street.

“Hell, Tony, that could’ve gone horribly!” and turned a couple of times, watching that they had not followed them. Tony snorted in frustration.

"It was worth a shot."

They sat on a bench, frustrated. Rhodey started kicking rocks. He could not believe they had gone through all that trouble only for the tickets to be sold out. And there was still the possibility that the faculty would discover that they had sabotaged the alarm system, which if it happened, could mean a suspension.

Tony began to pick him on the shoulder. "Rhodey ... Jimmy Jo. Rhodeeeees... "

"What ?!" Rhodey replied, annoyed. Tony turned to him, a smile and eyes twinkling mischievously.

"I have an idea."

 

 

 

“No.”

Tony took impulse, walking back into the street. He measured the height of the fence for a few seconds, and then ran up to it, trying to climb. He climbed a few meters and then fell to the floor on his ass. He panted, frustrated, and sat up with difficulty.

“C’mon, help me here.”

Rhodey looked at him unimpressed, and crossed his arms. "We're not going to sneak in."

Tony raised his arms to the sky, annoyed. "Do you propose a better idea?" Rhodey remained silent. Tony pointed at him with his index finger. "Then help me climb the damn fence!"

Rhodey sighed, defeated. Tony was a couple of years younger than him, and at seventeen he had a volatile temperament. Added to his impulsive personality, it was not a good combination. He was sure that if he left him to his own fortune long enough, Tony would find a way to cross the fence by himself, but Rhodey preferred not to leave him out in the wild without being supervised. He resigned himself to his fate, and went to the fence to help him up. Tony, understanding that he had won, smiled full of himself and leaned on him to climb.

Once they were on the other side, they walked quickly between the cars parked and reached the main building of the fair. They snuck into a large group of high school students, who laughed and talked loudly. Tony was their age, but Rhodey, being ten centimeters taller, looked like the father of the group.

They saw the long line to enter the conference where Sagan's panel would be, and sighed. Tony looked at the clock, it was still half an hour away.

When they managed to enter, there were no seats available. They approached the stage, where there were a couple of chairs and microphones, and they sat on the floor. A couple of people complained, but Rhodey silenced them with a fixed gaze. Tony tried to suppress a laugh, without much success. After a few minutes, the lights dimmed, and the moderator of the panel came out, announcing the guest of honor.

 

 

"Look, popcorn!" Tony dragged Rhodey by hand to a saleswoman who offered popcorn, candy and drinks. They had just come out of a wonderful panel. Two hours of astronomy, philosophy, and pure love for science, which had revolutionized their desire to continue with their projects. Tony was urged to return to the laboratory and continue working on the assistant robot, and Rhodey wanted to start with his designs to optimize the engine of military aircraft. Progress felt in the palm of their hands, and they were happy as children in an amusement park.

They left the premises eating popcorn and talking animatedly. They would have loved to stay for the rest of the fair, but it was important that they return to the campus and make sure everything was in order. Well, that they had not been discovered and nobody had been hurt.

They sat in the back of the bus, talking.

"I'm telling you, dyson spheres are possible! It's an enormous investment but it can become self sustainable very quickly!" said Tony, gesturing eagerly with his hands.

Rhodey shook his head. "Not in the next hundred years. We don’t have the technology to send someone to Mars, we won’t be able to install industrial bases on Mercury to extract solar energy. It is not economically viable. "

Tony shook his head, frustrated. "Technological progress is exponential! You do not have to wait a hundred years. In twenty we could already have a source of renewable energy to maintain the Earth's economy, and that could boost spatial colonization- "

"-like what, the reactor reactor?" Rhodey smiled, admiring his friend's optimism. "It's science fiction, Tony. That design is flawed, it will never work."

They continued to discuss amicably the rest of the trip to the campus, where they got off and walked to the residential area. But they quickly noticed that there was a great uproar, people running from one side of the yard to the other. Rhodey was high on alert, instantly.

"What's going on?" He asked a student who stopped near them. The boy turned around.

"They're trying to catch the pigs," he said, between alarmed and smiling. "There is a bet, whoever catches more than one takes the pot."

And he kept running on his way. Rhodey was perplexed.

"... Pigs?"

Tony, suspiciously, remained silent. Rhodey looked at him askance. "...You have nothing to do with this, right?"

Tony avoided his eyes, but it was obvious he was struggling to keep from laughing. "...Plan B?"

Suddenly, a little pig ran past them, growling. It had a sign around the back, which indicated "# 2." A group of students ran after the pig, and when one reached it and rushed to hold it, the pig easily escaped from his hands, causing the boy to fall face to the ground. Rhodey burst out laughing. Slowly, Tony joined him.

"Plan B?" Rhodey asked, "did you release a band of pigs on campus?"

"Not any pig," Tony said. "Three greased little pigs, difficult to catch: # 1, # 2 and # 4."

"What happened to the number 3?" Rhodey asked. Tony smiled wickedly. "Oh… _oh_."

"They will spend the whole night looking for it... only to discover that there is no piglet number 3."

Rhodey hugged Tony, laughing loudly, and shook his hair. "Oh, you're an evil genius.  A little evil genius."

 


End file.
